You and me with coffee and tea
by moonfiretiarasoulaction
Summary: Another Sayaki/Koyomi story, unrelated to my "All I want is..." series. It's a little more serious than the stories in that series. I tried to imagine how the two could become closer friends after Sayaka got her heart broken in the manga. I really hope one of the next chapters can contain a story somewhat like this.


Sayaka became aware of her increasingly faster pace as Cafe Echo came in view.  
All day long she had been pretending that nothing was amiss, talking to her classmates as usual.

She had endured the constant, bitter, empty, gnawing feeling inside of her.

She had tried to act as natural as she could toward Touko who was trying equally hard to act natural towards her, resulting in them behaving as awkward and distant to one another as if they hadn't tried at all.

Now she would finally be allowed some reprieve from the tension and sadness. She would finally have someone to talk to about what had happened.  
Someone who could understand and sympathize.

She tensed as she stepped up to the front door of her friend Miyako's cafe and held the door handle in her hand.  
Then she took a deep breath to collect herself and went in.

The cafe was really crowded. Sayaka had never seen it like this. Her heart contracted.  
She looked around and found Miyako serving a group of four with a smile and then go to the counter to check out an elderly couple.

The brunette went and sat at the bar in between a girl who was talking to her boyfriend and a young man in his thirties.  
Within a few minutes, Miyako came towards her.

"Hello, Saeki-san. What will you have?"

"A coffee please," Sayaka quietly asked.

Miyako quickly went and prepared her order after flashing her a smile. The brunette saw her wipe the sweat off her face with a handkerchief from the breast pocket of her shirt. Then she returned with Sayaka's coffee and emitted an inaudible sigh.

"It's been a while. But you were on a class trip of course. How are you doing?"

The tall redhead's smile fell as she properly took in her young friend's pale visage and slumped shoulders.

"Oh, poor girl. I've never seen you like this. What happened?"

"I'm sorry," Sayaka made an effort to sit up. "I wanted to talk to you, but I should have considered you would be busy."

"Don't say that. I will always have time to talk to a nice girl like you, but I'm afraid I'm in over my head today."

They both looked at the door through which three more customers were just coming in.

"I'm sorry Saeki-san. I hope things will calm down in an hour or so. Otherwise, I'll call you after work. But if you want to chat to take your mind off things, Yuu's friend is here too, though she might not want to be disturbed."

Sayaka frowned and scanned the tables.

Finally, at the far end of the bar, she found Koyomi sitting alone at a table against the wall. She seemed to have already noticed the older girl because at the moment Sayaka had pinpointed her position they locked eyes.

They each nodded a greeting and Sayaka turned toward Miyako again, but when she did the busy bar owner was already serving a group of four at a table by the door.  
Disappointment written on her face, she considered quickly drinking her coffee and going home.

Sayaka sighed and listlessly stirred her cup.  
Then, something at the periphery of her right eye made her turn her head and as she did so, to her surprise, she found Koyomi was still looking at her.

Realizing she had been caught, the blackette seemed apologetic for staring at her senpai, but eventually, she flashed Sayaka an inviting smile.

The older girl didn't really feel like bothering her kouhai with her currently depressing company, but she didn't feel like being alone either. If only Miyako had the time to talk to her. But then she should have realized this was not the place to discuss her heartbreak.  
She should have asked Miyako if she had time to meet her after work, but she had been too impatient for that.  
Her pain was acute and she needed someone to apply some kind of balm to her suffering heart, no matter how superficial.

Sayaka looked at the table at the far wall again.

Koyomi was still staring. At this point, it would be rude not to go over to her.

With an effort and a heavy feeling in her stomach, Sayaka picked up her cup and saucer and slowly approached the girl she barely knew.

"Hallo Kanou-san," She smiled. "I'm sorry for disturbing. Were you working on a story?"

"Yes, I was. I apologize for staring, senpai. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Please join me," Koyomi nervously apologized.

'That's right,' Sayaka realized. 'She had been staring. Could it be that she wants to ask me something?'

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a short while after Sayaka took her seat opposite her kouhai.

Sayaka was agitatedly sipping her coffee while the blackette rolled the pencil in her hand back and forth with a grimace, wondering whether she was waiting for her to talk.

"You just came back from your trip to Kyoto, didn't you?" Koyomi eventually tried. "How was it?"

She couldn't have found a more obvious and more hurtful subject right now, and no matter how Sayaka resolved to concentrate on the good parts of her trip in order to furnish a conversation out of them, her pain still showed on her face.

Koyomi was taken aback by her expression but tempered her reaction.

"It was nice," Sayaka smiled sadly with her eyes on her right hand while it stirred her cup. "Kyoto is a very beautiful city. Have you been there?"

"I... I have. One time when I was eight. So I don't remember much."

"Well, we had lots of fun. Touko took me on a boat in a lake," Sayaka smiled. "It was..." She realized to her embarrassment that a tear was rolling down her cheek.

"Do... Do you want another coffee?" Koyomi helpfully asked. "I'll go to the bar to order on my way to the restroom. Please excuse me."

"Yes. Thank you," Sayaka quietly sighed, wiping her eyes as the younger girl gave her some time to recuperate.

Maybe she should go home and rest after all. She didn't want Touko or Yuu to see her like this tomorrow.

Sayaka's eyes idly wandered over the table in her stupor.  
The story Koyomi had been working on was still lying on the table with her pencil next to it.  
Sayaka stared at it while her mind wandered.

"Are you curious?" Miyako's voice startled her. "I wouldn't peek if I was you."

"Of course not," Sayaka simply responded as her older friend changed their empty cups for new ones.

"Did something happen?" Miyako frowned. "I don't think I ever saw you like this."

Sayaka sighed and showed her a sad look.

"I came here to talk, but I should have asked to meet you after work. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"You never bother me, girl. You're too nice a girl to ever bother me."

Sayaka saw Koyomi come back from the restroom and her look alerted Miyako.

"Listen, come back here around the time I close up. We'll have a chat while I unwind from this madness," Miyako sighed as the front door opened and four people came in for the two that left.  
"Meanwhile, have a chat with your friend and see if you can find out something about her story."

"Not going to happen," Koyomi, taking her seat, deadpanned as Miyako gave Sayaka a wink and left them.

The blackette carefully glanced at her senpai as she drank her tea.

The short talk with Miyako and the promise to talk later had managed to somewhat lift Sayaka's spirits and she was able to smile as she stirred her coffee now.

Both girls sat sunk in thought for a while, each after a few minutes coming back to the idea that had occupied their minds earlier.

Koyomi stole another glance at the brunette whose eyes again fell on the story she was in the process of writing.  
She scraped her throat and intrepidly asked: "Has Yuu talked to you about anything bothering her before you left on your trip?"

Sayaka looked up in surprise.

"No. Why?" She confusedly answered the question with a question.

"It's just that she seems very out of it lately. I've never seen her so affected by anything," Koyomi averted her eyes.  
"After the play, she seemed very happy and full of purpose. I was surprised by the sudden change... If I had to guess..."  
She grimaced and sighed.  
"You seem like you get along, so I wondered if she might have said something to you. I don't want to hurt her feelings by prying, but she always keeps these things to herself, and I worry about her."

Sayaka stared at the younger girl who looked her honestly but boldly in the eyes.  
The question that had entered her mind earlier forced itself to her lips in spite of herself.

"Kanou-san... When you wrote the play, why did you assign me the part of the main character's lover?"

Koyomi looked embarrassed for a moment and swallowed before drinking from her cup in order to formulate her reply.

"Well... As I said before: Obviously assigning that part to a boy could have become troublesome. It might have started suspicions. And I knew Yuu didn't want to have an important part, so you were the only one left.  
But..." The younger girl gave Sayaka a penitent look as she went to the heart of the matter. "I had my suspicions about what was going on between the three of you and I think I wanted to do something nice for you."

Sayaka looked away, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I apologize," Koyomi quietly added, anxious not to cause the older girl distress. "I didn't mean any harm. I found it odd how involved Yuu was getting with Nanami-senpai.  
It wasn't any of my business and I never wanted to make it mine, but I had a feeling the two of them were becoming more than friends.  
I also suspected that if Nanami-senpai was developing that kind of relationship with Yuu she might have had a similar relationship with her closest friend before that."

"Ei... Either way," The blackette blushed."I was worried about Yuu, but I decided not to pry.  
Then, when Yuu asked me to write the script for the play and I asked her about Nanami-senpai in order to get inspiration for the story it was obvious she didn't want to tell me anything, so I couldn't help but let my imagination run its course.  
But when I came to the meetings and the rehearsals I realized my imagination had been closer to the truth than I had expected."

Koyomi anxiously watched the quiet senpai in front of her.

"I'm really sorry for causing you distress," She put her hands together. "I was only getting worried over Yuu because of how sad she has been looking lately."

Her kouhai's apology shook Sayaka out of her stupor and she looked up.

"Don't worry," She whispered sadly. "I think Yuu will be alright.

Koyomi looked the older girl in the eyes. "And what about you?" She asked.

Sayaka sighed and drank her coffee while Koyomi watched her in anticipation.

"I confessed to Touko in Kyoto. And she rejected me because she is in love with Yuu."

She had wanted to say these things to Miyako. She didn't know Koyomi well enough to feel comfortable confiding such painful feelings to her, but Sayaka was surprised how easy it was to share her most intimate emotions with the girl.

"I see..." Koyomi quietly confirmed. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

Sayaka looked at the bar where Miyako was preparing another order.  
She wanted another coffee, but she didn't want to bother the manager when she was so busy.

"Did you know I entered a story in a competition?" Koyomi inquired.

That piqued the older girl's curiosity. It was the first thing since waking up that had managed to make her consider something besides her broken heart.

"No, I didn't," She answered, looking at Koyomi with a little more life in her eyes. "Your script was very well written. You must have done really well."

Koyomi grinned mysteriously.

"There's an author I have admired for a very long time who I knew would be a judge in the competition. That is why I entered my story. But I had also managed to win a ticket for a meet and greet. When my turn came up I was surprised to see that my hero was a woman."

Sayaka stared at the younger girl in slight surprise.

"You had expected her to be a man?"

Koyomi nodded and put her hands around her teacup.

"And this is the embarrassing part: When I came home I realized I had developed a crush on my imagined male Renma-sensei."

Sayaka tried not to laugh at Koyomi's embarrassed blush.

"You can laugh if you want," The blackette smiled wryly "I was so angry with myself when I realized my foolishness."

They both had a quiet giggle before drinking the last of their tea and coffee. Miyako came to change their cups soon after.

"I hope you just want the same again?" She asked as she placed the new cups in front of them and smiled as they nodded.  
"Phew!" She sighed. "Things are finally calming down."

"You made a lot of money today," Koyomi said.

"One step closer to that dream," Sayaka shared a knowing smile with her older friend.

"You seem to be doing a little better," Miyako observed before scanning the other tables. "I'm glad. If it is what I hope it's not... You'll get over it in time, girl."

Koyomi watched her senpai sigh sadly and nod.

"I know," The brunette agreed quietly.

Her two friends saw her stare at her coffee with pity.

A thought struck Koyomi eventually, and she slowly revealed a very official looking large envelope from underneath the papers she had been writing her story on.

"I actually didn't come here just to write," She bashfully declared.

Sayaka and Miyako curiously watched the envelope the blackette seemed to be holding as if it would jump from under her hands if she let go.  
They could make out the words: "Hanazawa publishing" on it.

"What's that?" Sayaka asked with an intrigued look.

"It's the results from the competition," Koyomi grimaced. "And most importantly... I hope... Renma-sensei's opinion on my story."

"Oh!" Sayaka gasped.

"You entered a competition?!" Miyako exclaimed.

"Yeah," The blackette grinned at the envelope. "And I came here to write in order to delay opening this envelope. But," She looked up at Sayaka. "If you were so brave to confess I have to face my fears too."

Sayaka gave her a determined nod. "Open it," She encouraged.

"Go on. I bet you did great," Miyako agreed.

Under the anxious gaze of her supporters, Koyomi opened the envelope with tempered excitement and read the letter that accompanied the manuscript she had sent into the competition.

Miyako amusedly noted how empathically Sayaka was sharing the girl's important moment.

Gradually her kouhai's tense look relaxed into a smile and Sayaka leaned closer.

"Renma-sensei loved the story," Koyomi grinned to her friend's pleasure. "She wrote that everyone agreed it was very thrilling, but the competition was very tough and the jury felt I still have some things to learn when it comes to technique.

Renma-sensei also says she feels flattered by the instances where I homage her work and thinks it was done in moderation but that it is clear I am still finding my own voice.

Everyone agreed that my characterization, coloring, and inventive plotting are my strong points and the story was a pleasure to read. They hope to read more from me."

"So you didn't win?" Sayaka asked in a disappointed tone.

"I came in fifth," Koyomi smiled at her. Her eyes wandered over the letter again and her smile broadened.  
"I was able to write a story that gave pleasure to an author whose stories have given me much pleasure. I'm happy with that."

Sayaka smiled in sympathy.

"Fifth place is pretty great no matter how you look at it. Congratulations Kanou-san!" Miyako cheered. "You each dared to put yourselves out there. I think that deserves a drink on the house," She winked.

The girls thanked her and the woman left them to serve another couple that just came in and get them their treats.

"Congratulations, Kanou-san," Sayaka gently smiled as the younger girl was still taken in by the letter. "Are you really happy?"

"Yes," Koyomi answered as she put the letter down.

"I haven't been writing for very long, so I didn't expect to win. I mainly wanted to know what Renma-sensei thought of my story because she has been such an inspiration to me."

The older girl ponderously observed the blackette holding the letter down on the table with both hands.

'Kanou-san is happy just to be a source of joy to the one she admires. She had a crush on Renma-sensei... It's nothing like what I feel for Touko," The brunette reflected as her heart sent a pang of pain through her body. "But I used to feel the same before Yuu invaded our friendship."

"Kanou-san?"

Koyomi looked up from the letter with a slight grimace.

"Did you get over your crush?"

The younger girl regarded Sayaka in blank surprise for a few seconds.  
"I suppose I did," She thoughtfully replied eventually.

"Is it because she's a woman?"

The brunette saw the girl on the other side of the table frown as if the idea had never even crossed her mind.

A few seconds later the change in Koyomi's expression made it clear to Sayaka that the blackette had just made an important discovery about herself.  
The girl's hold on the letter from Hanazawa publishing slackened.

"It was because I was so embarrassed over such a childish crush that I was turned off from my male Renma-sensei fantasy," She at last replied.

"As soon as you realized you had a crush on him you were repulsed by him?"

Koyomi gave her senpai a nod. "Yes."

Then they both burst into laughter.

"He mustn't have been a very impressive fantasy," Sayaka teased.

"And that after I was just complimented for my characterizations," Koyomi giggled.

"That is advertising you can't buy," Miyako observed as she brought them another coffee and tea with a platter of cookies. "The longer people stay in Cafe Echo the happier they become."

Sayaka smile turned sad at those words but Koyomi still wore a strange smirk on her face as her eyes fell on the letter in her hands again.

"Hey Kanou-san," The manager frowned. "What are all those other papers you're hiding under the letter you just read.

"I don't know," Koyomi said, the expression on her face unaltered.

"Then why don't you look?" Sayaka asked quietly.

"Give me a few more minutes."

They waited patiently for exactly two minutes while Koyomi stayed in exactly the same position.

"I can see what it is, if..." Miyako began with a grin.

"Alright, I'll look," The blackette snappishly interrupted the woman before she tensely lifted the letter from the papers underneath.

"It's my manuscript!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Of course! But Renma-sensei included a bundle with her personal observations!" Koyomi excitedly discovered as she went through the papers that covered her manuscript.

Sayaka couldn't help smile at her obvious high spirits.

'It's strange... But I never saw Saeki-san smile so much before she got her heart broken.' Miyako reflected. 'I better not say anything.'

She turned around when she heard a quiet bustle behind her and approached the last but two customers to check them out.

"I'm happy for you," Sayaka smiled as Koyomi neatly folded the papers in her hands and slid them in the large envelope for future perusal.

"Ah... I'm sorry. I wanted to distract you from your pain, but I didn't..."

"It's alright," Her senpai frowned sadly. "It will hurt for a long time still... But you were able to make me feel a little better today. Thank you, Kanou-san."

Koyomi watched the brunette's brave, timid smile.

"Are you angry with them?" She asked emphatically.

Sayaka looked thoughtful.

"No... I can't be," She answered at last. "I'm really grateful to Yuu for what she has done for Touko. And I can't be angry with Touko. She suffered so much while always working so hard and giving so much to everyone around her. I wish them well. I hope Touko will be happier from here on out," She replied with a sad, dreamy look.

Koyomi gazed at the girl in front of her and unconsciously relaxed her balled fist.

"You are really amazing, Saeki-senpai," She gushed.

Sayaka gave her a perplexed look.

"Most of the other students think you are very talented and refined. But they also think that you are a little unapproachable... I wanted to show them how nice and caring you are when I wrote your character," The blackette blushed to her own surprise.

Koyomi wasn't completely aware where these words were coming from, but she knew she wanted her senpai to feel better.

The girl on the other side of the table colored slightly as she looked into the blackette's intense stare.

That was the moment Miyako, after closing the cafe, slid another chair at their table and sat down with a beer.

"I'm so glad I can finally sit down and relax," She sighed.

"That's right," Koyomi remembered. "You wanted to talk."

She startled Miyako by getting up.

"Hey, wait. I don't want you to feel like you have to leave..." The woman protested and looked at Sayaka for help.

"No..." The brunette began.

"It's alright, Senpai," Koyomi smiled. "You waited a long time to have your talk."

Her eyes wondered curiously towards the envelope containing her manuscript.

"Senpai. Can I ask you for a favor?" She asked with a serious look.

Sayaka was still somewhat perplexed by what the younger girl had told her.

"What is it?" She asked.

Koyomi opened the envelope again and separated a few pages before holding out her manuscript to Sayaka.

"I would very much like to know what you think of my story."

"But I don't read that many novels," Sayaka protested.

"That's exactly why I'm curious," Koyomi answered.

The older girl hesitatingly accepted the manuscript from her kouhai's hands.

"Don't worry about getting it dirty or something," Koyomi assured. "I have another copy and I have it on my laptop as well."

"When do you want it back?"

"You can give it back to me at school whenever you like. Or you can bring it to my home when you're ready. Just let me know. Oh!" Koyomi exclaimed. "Do you have my number?"

"No, I don't. We should have asked you when we had you writing the script for the play, but we always counted on Yuu to contact you."

"Let's exchange numbers then," Koyomi offered, taking her cellphone from the pocket of her coat.

Miyako watched the girls touch their cellphones together with a puzzled expression.

"I guess I'll let you out then?" She suggested as she got up.

Koyomi walked with her to the door under her senpai's intrigued gaze.

As the redhead opened the door the girl turned around one last time.

"Goodnight, Senpai. I hope you'll feel better soon."

"Thank you, Kanou-san. Goodnight to you too," Sayaka smiled.

Miyako watched the girl walk leisurely out into the dark after thanking her for her hospitality.

'I have the feeling you are a much shrewder kind of girl than I've been giving you credit for, Kanou-san,' She thought as she watched the blackette look behind her and quickly look ahead again when she found the manager's eyes on her.


End file.
